Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 453: The Reckless Fighter [Thank you! Thank you again! I owe you 43k more]

Chaoyun Pavilion,
The street in front of the brothel was very busy.
Three young men in scholar's robes stood aside.
One of them was well-dressed and said with a somewhat angry look on his face: "Brother Jinyu, that scholar surnamed Sun is a jerk who doesn't know how to appreciate a good person. Why do you care about him?"

The young man called Brother Jinyu was wearing a very clean shirt although it was a little worn. He looked back at the tall and exquisite wooden building and said, "Just now, I heard what Mr. Sun said in the room next to him. He knows a lot about washing, sewing and mending. He must have come from a poor family!"

"Ah! I really can't bear to see him waste his money here!"

Hearing what Brother Jinyu said, the man with embroidery on his shirt shook his head and said, "What a pity! People think you, Shui Jinyu, are trying to snatch the female musician from him. Since he doesn't know what's good for him, why did you say those two extra words and make the mother in the pavilion unhappy!"

Shui Jinyu sighed: "My two brothers, you two know how difficult it was for me when I came to Bianjing! I also received money from an unknown nobleman. I wanted to ask for his help, but he told me to help other people in need."

The well-dressed young man said, "Hahaha! Brother Jinyu, that scholar surnamed Sun is not in trouble, at most he has been tricked! It is hard to persuade this man with good words, so let's not talk about him! The results of the imperial examination will be announced in a few days, and I wonder if Brother Jinyu will be chosen as a son-in-law by someone."

Shui Jinyu looked at the direction of the imperial city with melancholy: "I just hope to pass the test, I don't dare to think about other things."

The young man in the embroidered shirt said, "If you two brothers pass the test, you must lend me some money so that I can go to the pawnshop in the city to redeem the jade pendant from the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion, and my wife can embroider fewer handkerchiefs."

"Haha, thanks for the good words, brother Shan."

As they spoke, the three of them walked away from Chaoyun Pavilion.

Farther away,
The "Shan Brother" among the three looked back at the brothel and whispered, "I think it's better for us to attend less banquets at the Kangwang Mansion in the future to avoid any trouble."

Hearing this, the other two nodded repeatedly.

Polo Field,
The two teams facing each other on the field have changed.

In the tent of the British Duke Zhang,

The ladies sat on embroidered cushions and looked out at the polo match.

Gu Tingyi and Minglan were standing next to Zhang Jiawu Niang, discussing the techniques of throwing pots with each other.

Hearing the cheers outside the tent,
Zhang's Wu Niang looked outside and asked, "Which two families are the newcomers?"

Molan looked at the people in the tent and saw that no one spoke, so she whispered, "It looks like the second son and third daughter of the Yu family, but I can't recognize the family they are facing."

"Go and ask."

Zhang Jia Wu Niang ordered.

"Yes, girl."

The maid responded and left.

"Wu Niang, are you going to compete in pitching pots? If not, I will sit down and rest with Minglan."

"Bibi! Bibi!"

After a while

The maid of the Zhang family said at the door of the tent: "Miss, I have found out that Miss Yu's opponent is the third daughter of the Hong family, the governor of Yangzhou, who came to Beijing last year! Mrs. Peng of the Hong family has some relatives with the Wei family of Fu'an Marquis."

Hearing the maid's words,

Gu Tingyi looked outside with some curiosity: "It turned out to be her!"

Zhang Jia Wu Niang looked at Gu Tingyi: "Tingyi, do you know him?"

Gu Tingyi shook his head: "Not really acquaintance, but I met her once when my mother went to Yangzhou to hold a thank-you banquet. I vaguely remember that her aunt's family seemed to be an official in the Ministry of Revenue."

Everyone listened and nodded. Chai Zhengzheng looked at the Sheng family members in confusion.

After exchanging a glance with Chai Zhengzheng, Rulan smiled a little awkwardly: "Sister Chai, what's wrong?"

After saying that, he looked down at his clothes.

Chai Zhengzheng shook his head: "It's okay, I just heard that Lord Sheng was also the magistrate of Yangzhou before, I didn't expect..."

Rulan nodded: "Oh, the three of us are young, and it was always the older sister who went to participate in the Yangzhou Xiangyi Yaji before, so I haven't seen the sister from the Hong family very often."

In the Xu family tent,
Also talking about the two sides fighting on the field.

Xu Zaijing asked curiously, "Liu Lang, are you saying that the Hong family girl was originally destined to be with Wei Faqi?"

Liang Han nodded repeatedly: "Yes! But somehow the Wei family broke off the engagement."

Gu Tingye looked at Xu Zaijing and said, "Brother Jing, we should have seen this girl when we were in Yangzhou. She seems to be not much younger than Sister Hualan, right?"

Xu Zaijing nodded and turned to look at Liang Han and continued, "Liu Lang, what new changes have taken place now? Normally, after something like this, the Hong family girl would not come out to cause discussion."

Liang Han smiled and glanced at Gu Tingye.

Gu Tingye asked in confusion: "Liu Lang, why are you looking at me?"

Liang Han whispered:
"Not many people know about this, but I heard from my mother that this Hong family girl is destined to marry Gu Tingyang from the fifth branch of your Gu family."

"My cousin?"

Gu Tingye said this and glanced at Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing, who was holding the teacup, stopped his hand in mid-air and said with disdain, "Tsk, it's this guy."

"Your Gu family is a family that founded the country and supported the economy, and you have a long history of military connections! The Fu'an Marquis Wei family, on the other hand, has a weaker foundation. So it's natural that this Hong family girl wants to come out and play polo."

Hearing Liang Han's words, Gu Tingye raised his eyebrows complacently and said, "No wonder my cousin doesn't go to brothels these days."

At the end of the day (after 3 p.m.)
The polo match is over.
There were servants packing up things near the Yu family's tent.
Yu Yanhong put down the silver kettle she was drinking water from, tugged at her brother's sleeve and said, "Brother, look, it's the maidservant next to Miss Zhengzheng from the Chai family coming this way."

Yu Erlang turned his head to look, quickly straightened his clothes, looked at Yu Yanhong who was standing beside him with an expression that indicated that there was no problem, then he cleared his throat and stood up.

The maid of the Chai family came closer and bowed: "Greetings, Erlang and Sanxiao, I am from the Chai family."

"I know, I know. You are Sister Zhengzheng's personal maid. Why are you here?"

Yu Yanhong asked with a smile.

Fu Yi smiled and said, "I wonder if Miss Yu is in the tent?"

Hearing this,

The smiles on the brother and sister's faces froze, but Yu Erlang reacted quickly and continued to smile, "Yes, yes!"

After saying that, he turned around and shouted, "Big sister!"

Yu Yanran and her maid poked their heads out of the tent, with some confusion in their eyes.

Fu Yi smiled politely at the Yu brothers, then walked up to Yu Yanran and bowed: "Ms. Yu, our lady would like to invite you to have tea tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I wonder if you can spare the time to go then."

Yu Yanran nodded repeatedly: "I dare not say I will take the time, I will go tomorrow or the day after tomorrow when I am free."

"Okay, then I will reply to our girl like this."

After saying that, Fu Yi bowed to Yu Yanran, Yanhong and Yu Erlang, then turned and left.

Yu Yanhong smiled as she watched Fu Yi leave. After she had gone far away, she put away her smile and secretly rolled her eyes at Yu Yanran.

Finished packing.

The Yu family and their group walked out of the venue.

As soon as he reached the door, Yu Erlang looked at Yu Yanhong and said, "Sister, where are your earrings?"

Hearing this, Yu Yanhong touched her earlobe and was stunned: "It's broken! It might have fallen off."

Yu Erlang frowned and said, "Those are my mother's treasured earrings. You wore them secretly. If you can't find them."

"Brother, stop talking and go back to find it."

Afterwards, everyone in the Yu family returned to the tent.

The sun is setting,

After searching for a while,
There were fewer people in the polo field, and it seemed very empty.

"found it!"

Yu Yanran pointed to the ground under the gap in the wooden floor.

"Why don't you go down and pick it up!" Yu Yanhong glared at the little maid beside her.

The maid crawled into the space under the floor and took great pains to pick the earring out from underneath.

Yu Yanhong put away the earrings.

When the Yu family was about to leave,
The polo field was already very quiet. In the distance, the stadium manager and servants were carrying flags, gongs, drums and goal boards.

When we arrived outside the polo field,
Yu Yanhong thought about what the maid from the Chai family had just said, and looked around with a feeling of discomfort in her heart.

suddenly,

Yu Yanhong was stunned for a moment, then patted her brother's arm and said, "Brother, look over there! Why does the horse next to the car look so familiar?"

Yu Erlang followed his instructions and looked at the carriage with servants and maids standing in the distance: "It looks like the mount of the young lady from the Hong family who just fought with you."

"Right! But the carriage next to it doesn't look like it belongs to the Hong family!" Yu Yanhong continued.

Yu Erlang squinted and took a look: "Hiss! It looks familiar to me, it's the Qin family's carriage from the Dongchang Marquis Mansion!" "Humph! No wonder she came out to play polo, it turns out she has married into a rich family!" Yu Yanhong pouted with some disgust.

Talking
The Yu family and their group gradually moved away from the polo field.

Yu Erlang looked back from time to time. When he saw someone coming out of the Qin family carriage and straightening his clothes, Yu Erlang turned around and sighed, "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, the Qin family's brother is really a romantic man!"

"Bah, shameless."

Yu Yanhong said something beside her, not knowing whether she was talking about a man, a woman or her own brother.

When we return to Yu Mansion,
The sun sets.

It was already getting dark.

Yu Yanhong entered the inner courtyard, looked at her parents who were talking, and quickly walked over and said, "Mother, guess what your daughter saw just now?"

"Hong'er, what did you see that made you so happy?"

Yu Yanhong leaned over to her mother's ear and whispered something.

The eldest lady of the Yu family looked at Yu Yanhong in surprise and sighed, "I didn't expect that the Hong family would climb up such a high branch!"

Yu Yanhong nodded repeatedly.

night,
inside the palace,
Outside the house where the guards rested under the city wall,
An eunuch carrying a lantern walked into the house with guards carrying a wooden board.

The inner official's voice came:
"Pan'er, this is the mark left by a certain fellow when he was playing polo today. Your Majesty wants you to take a look!"

after awhile,

Someone said, "Sir, I thank your majesty for protecting me."

"Pan'er is too polite. His Majesty also wants you to understand the good intentions of His Majesty in not letting you leave the palace."

"I understand, my lord!"

After a few days,
Early this morning,
Yong Yi Hou Mansion,

After finishing his exercise, Xu Zaijing walked into the house and looked at the empty seat at the table in confusion and asked, "Where's my father?"

Sun yawned and said, "Today, His Majesty will review the Western Army returning to the capital in front of Baojin Tower. Your father rushed there early in the morning."

"Speaking of which, for this review, the Western Army has been detained in the camp for training since the day they arrived in Beijing, so it should be a little different from the reviews in previous years."

Xu Zaijing listened, nodded, and sat down at the table: "My cousin said he would return to Beijing before the New Year, but it's already March!"

Sun glanced at Xu Zaijing and asked, "Are you thinking about your cousin or the gift I want to give you?"

"All!"

Xu Zaijing took the bowl of porridge handed over by Zhu Mama and smiled.

After breakfast,
When Xu Zaijing was about to leave the table to go to school,
Sun looked at her eldest daughter-in-law Xie's eyes and suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, Jing'er! Wait a minute!"

Looking at the puzzled Xu Zaijing, Sun said, "Your elder brother asked for several good cavalrymen from the capital before, and the rest followed your elder brother!"

"Only one of them came back with Marquis Tuoxi and your father. He has been in the western camp to prepare for today's review. You can go and visit him after school today."

As she spoke, Sun reached out and took the envelope from her nanny and handed it to Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing took it and glanced at the address on the envelope before nodding: "I understand, mother."

Zai Zhang, who was sitting at the table, looked at Sun and said, "Mother, what about me?"

Sun smiled and said, "Zhang'er, Jing'er has been to the Western Army. He has something to say to the cavalry that your eldest brother is optimistic about. What can you say if you go there?"

Zai Zhang nodded helplessly: "Mother, I am full too."

When Xu Zaijing was studying at Sheng's house,

Madam Wu was visiting a certain civil servant's home. She was sitting at the head of the table and said with a smile, "Sister Liu, the Hai family asked me to express my gratitude to you, but their sister Yun is still young, so the marriage will have to wait two years."

The mistress opposite, Madam Liu, nodded and said, "I knew it was probably like this. My brother hasn't even passed the exam yet, so how could he possibly be favored by a family like the Hai family! If the master hadn't pressed me hard, I wouldn't have asked you to go with me."

Mrs. Wu smiled and shook her head to indicate that it was nothing, and said, "It's all a small matter. I just thought of it as a visit to the Hai family! I also took a look at their brother Jie! Oh, he is such a good child."

Madam Liu nodded and smiled with satisfaction, then leaned forward with a gossipy look in her eyes and said, "By the way, sister, I heard that the third daughter of the Hong family who came to Beijing last year was abandoned by the Wei family, and now the marriage has been decided again?"

Mrs. Wu's eyes flashed with surprise, and she said with a smile: "Sister, you are well-informed!"

Madam Liu waved her hands and said, "No, no, I heard it from the eldest lady of the Yu family! Hiss, sister, how did the Hong family climb up to the high branch of the Dongchang Marquis' Mansion?"

Madam Wu smiled noncommittally and said, "Is it the second wife of Master Yu? How did she know?"

Madam Liu nodded: "Yes, it was her! She said that her daughter saw the daughter of the Hong family getting off the Qin family's carriage outside the stadium."

Madam Wu nodded without changing her expression: "Alright, the rumors in Bianjing are common. I have something else to do today, so I'll take my leave."

"Ugh!"

Madam Liu stood up and responded, then accompanied Madam Wu out of the house.

Watching Madam Wu's carriage go away, the nanny next to the madam sighed, "Tsk, this daughter of the Hong family is really bold. Even if she is engaged, she can't be like this."

The end of the You hour (7:00 p.m.)
Somewhere in a dark alley.

Xu Zaijing stood beside the little black colt, followed by Qingyun who was leading the horse.

Xu Zaijing turned around and asked, "Qingyun, the review of the Western Army at Baojin Tower will be over at noon, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then why hasn't this warrior surnamed Liao come back yet?"

"Sir, the neighbors said that this Liao family boy came back this afternoon and then went out again. Maybe he went to some brothel, Gaole. How about we come back tomorrow?"

Xu Zaijing patted the envelope in his other hand and said, "Wait a little longer. If it doesn't come, we'll go back."

The alley grew darker.

"chi"

In the darkness not far away came the sound of something heavy being dragged on the floor.

"Sorry"

The little black colt neighed anxiously and pawed the ground with its front hooves.

After hearing the sound of a knife being unsheathed not far away, someone croaked, "Who is it?"

Xu Zaijing comforted Xiao Liju and said, "But Liao Sanlang is here in person! I am a member of the Xu family in Quyuan Street. I am here at your request to invite you to join the army. You will have a bright future!"

"Tsk! Xu family?"

The man in the darkness sneered.

"Woo~woo~"

There was a muffled groaning sound from someone with his mouth gagged.

During the speaking time,

A tall and strong young man appeared in front of Xu Zaijing and Qingyun.
The young man was leading a horse, and the horse was dragging a sack behind it.

Then, the young man opened the sack in front of Xu Zaijing, revealing the middle-aged man inside.

The young man pulled the rag out of the middle-aged man's mouth and said, "Master Qi, this is the Kang family's backer you mentioned, the son of the Xu family of the Yongyi Marquis Mansion in Quyuan Street. Do you have anything to say?"

The middle-aged man looked at Xu Zaijing in the dark with panic in his eyes, and said in a trembling voice: "I, this, Yingxiong, your sister's death, I really didn't mean it, she, I, the Xu family didn't know either"

"Come in and talk slowly in front of my sister's coffin."

As he said that, the young man grabbed the middle-aged man's hair and dragged him towards the house.

Xu Zaijing frowned and said to Qingyun beside him: "When did our family become the backer of the Kang family?"

Qingyun shook his head in confusion: "Sir, are we going in?"

Xu Zaijing thought for a moment and said, "Don't go in yet! Ride to Kang's house and tell them that this steward Qi is inviting me to dinner. Then go to Sheng's house and ask what's going on."

"Let my family know about this."

"Yes, son!"

Qingyun left.

After stretching his arms and legs, Xu Zaijing walked into the Liao family’s house.

Less than half a quarter of an hour later,
Xu Zaijing walked out carrying a person in each hand.

Behind him was the horse of the young man.

After securing the young man to his horse, Xu Zaijing led his men into the darkness. At the same time, a voice was heard: "You, a bloodthirsty man from the Western Army, really do not take the Great Zhou Law seriously! Alas!"

(End of this chapter)