Yi Song

Chapter 74 The mysterious Lord Houde Palace

Liu Guozhang gestured with his right hand on his throat, and Di Wanren and Yang Xiaojie nodded understandingly.

"Six heads are installed. The day after tomorrow happens to be the first seven, and they are taken to the grave of Fu Qilang's family to worship. The rest of the heads and corpses are found in a remote wasteland and buried. Remember, dig deeper and fill with soil before digging. Horse trample it a few times to avoid having to ask people to find it later."

"clear."

"Okay, you all go about your business. I have to go apologize to that noble family. If we negotiate well, our case of robbery and murder on the street can be covered up."

Liu Guozhang took the spare clothes from Zhang Meng, changed them in a remote place, arranged his hair, put on his headdress, rode a horse, and came with Zhang Meng to the post pavilion at the foot of Tuogang.

Two carriages were parked outside the courtyard, and two guards guarded the entrance.

Liu Guozhang dismounted, threw the reins to Zhang Meng, and said with cupped hands: "Please inform me that Liu Guozhang is here to apologize to you!"

The guards glared at Liu Guozhang unkindly. One of them turned around and went in. After a while, he came out and said in a cold voice: "Untie the sword and go in alone."

Zhang Meng, who had tied up his mount, took a step forward and said displeasedly: "What do you mean by untying the sword?"

"Big Eyes, it's okay." Liu Guozhang took off the Hundred Flowers Slash and handed it to Zhang Meng, "If you come to apologize, you have to look like you are apologizing. Besides, I can beat these deflated eggplants without the Hundred Flowers Slash. .”

The two guards were so angry that smoke was coming out of their nostrils, and their eyes became increasingly evil, but they still did not dare to take action.

Liu Guozhang walked into the yard and saw a pavilion on the left side of the yard at a glance. It was surrounded by a silk curtain, and someone could vaguely be seen sitting in it.

Standing in front of the pavilion was an old man, fifty or sixty years old, wearing a Taoist robe, with a wooden hairpin in his gray hair, his face flushed, and his eyes full of energy.

The hands are wrapped in the wide sleeves and hang down naturally.

Well, no beard!

"I, Liu Hu, whose courtesy name is Guozhang and also known as Liu Erlang, have come to apologize to your noble lord."

The old man smiled and bowed his hands in return: "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord! The old Liu Baoxiang is the personal steward of the Lord of Houde Palace."

Houde Palace?
  The Song Dynasty worshiped Taoism, especially Zhao Ji.

Nowadays, there are many Taoist temples, from this temple to that palace, and the master of Tidian Temple is his confidant or relative, with an honorable status.

"In order to intercept that gang of thugs just now, I had no choice but to take this tactic and disturb the noble man. He deserves death!"

"Xiang Lao told me that Erlang wanted to take action, but he was afraid that the bad guys would take us hostage and accidentally hurt us, so he took this dangerous move. As people say, there is nothing in this world that Erlang dares not do."

A soft voice came from the curtain, and Palace Master Houde sounded like he was only fourteen or fifteen years old.

"Are those gangsters the ones who killed Fu Qilang's family?"

"Yes."

"Well done! Erlang found the real murderer so quickly? Are you sure?"

"They admitted it personally. The leader was named Yelu Dahu, and six people were killed that night."

"Yelu is fighting a tiger, is he a Khitan?" someone exclaimed in the curtain.

"Yes."

"Khitan, Erlang is really brave."

"In Liu Erlang's eyes, there are only friends and enemies, no distinction between Khitan and Song people."

"Everyone was killed?"

"Kill them all."

"Not one left?"

"No one will be spared. If we don't kill anyone who dares to inflict wanton abuse in our capital of the Song Dynasty, how can we keep him and treat him to a drink during the New Year?"

"You yourself said you wanted to stay alive. There are only two places, first come first served." At this point, the people in the curtain couldn't help but giggle, and then there was the sound of the maid gently patting the back.

"Palace Master, do you want a drink of water?"

"Ah."

After the sound of drinking water, a soft voice sounded again, "Liu Erlang, you don't mean what you say."

"Why doesn't it count? When I said to keep them alive, I did, letting them live for half an hour longer. I just said to keep them alive, but I didn't guarantee that they would live a long life."

There was silence in the curtain for a while, "Forget it, I can't defeat you. Those Khitan people who dare to act recklessly in the imperial capital deserve to die."

"The Palace Master is right. These Khitans dare to kill the imperial military attachés in the outer city today, the bachelors in the inner city tomorrow, and the Donghua Gate the day after tomorrow. We must let them know the mighty Yanyan of the Great Song Dynasty, and they will never do it again in the future. Dare to act recklessly."

"I heard that you and Thirteenth Sister are doing business together?"

"Sister Thirteen?" "She is your dean of Lingguang Academy."

"Oh, yes. In the Yujin Garden gambling game, I bet on myself and won a lot of money. Money can't be left to rust in the bank, it must be used to do business. Master Meng will not give up and is willing to support me. , and then together we can take over some properties that others don’t want and take good care of them.”

"The property that others don't want is the few pieces of meat you snatched from Gao Qiu's mouth by destroying the Wuyou Gang." The voice coming from the curtain was soft, but the words were sharp.

"It's strange. Thirteenth sister is good at managing money and is best at doing business. Third brother, fifth brother and several cousins ​​all want to partner with her, but they all look down on her. Why are they willing to partner with you?"

"It is best not to do business as a partnership between relatives. Because once money is involved, disputes and conflicts will easily arise. Maybe even relatives will not be able to do it. I have no relationship with the owner of the hospital. If we really fall out, we will fall out.

The president of the hospital is far-sighted and has a profound sense of justice. "

"I heard from Mr. Xiang that after some renovations in your business, your business is unique and very eye-catching." After a moment of silence, the soft voice sounded again.

Liu Guozhang heard something and asked tentatively: "Palace Master, do you want to join the party?"

There was another moment of silence, and the soft voice was a little shy.

"I'm not as good at dancing as Thirteenth Sister, so I can only sit back and live in vain. But..." The girl inside was embarrassed to say any more.

"Money is not everything, but having no money is absolutely impossible." Liu Guozhang replied.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's what it means." The girl said in surprise, and then continued coyly, "Do you want me to join in?"

"Yes. When everyone adds firewood, the flames will rise. I'll go tell the director of the hospital and if she doesn't agree, I will give you one share of my shares."

Palace Master Houde, she looked like a noble daughter of the clan at first glance, and her background was no worse than Murong Shisan's.

Joining forces is a good thing and must be agreed to.

"That's great. Liu Erlang, you are such a good person."

"Ahem!" Liu Baoxiang coughed a few times and asked with concern: "Liu Erlang, have you dealt with the gangsters' problems?"

Liu Guozhang quickly replied: "Thank you, Mr. Xiang, for reminding me. I took the liberty of requesting the palace master that this group of gangsters with unknown origins wanted to attack Luan Jia, and we encountered them. After a hard fight, we killed several people, and the rest fled without a trace. We Further investigation revealed that these six people were the murderers of Fu Qianli’s family.”

"Ah, why do you say that? Can't you just say it openly?"

"Palace Master, this is about the Khitans. If I really tell anyone about it, I'm worried that someone in the court will surprise our allies."

"Are the allies surprised?"

"Khitan and Northern Liao have been friends for generations. If something happens in our Song Dynasty, some people will feel that the earth is shaking, and they will be more sad than the death of their own father, so it is better not to let them know." Liu Guozhang replied.

"Is this okay?"

"Isn't this what the Song Dynasty is like now? To deceive the subordinates and conceal the superiors, as long as it doesn't disturb them and make them drunken and sleepy, everything is easy to talk about."

"What if the Khitans ask?"

Liu Baoxiang replied from the side: "This group of Khitan people are wearing Song Dynasty clothes and pretending to be businessmen. They just don't want people to know. In this case, the north won't ask, and we pretend not to know. Everyone is deaf and dumb, that's all. ”

"Well, I understand. I thought these people were not Khitans, but just bandits who came from nowhere. But, these dozen people died in vain?" The girl in the curtain still couldn't believe it.

"Why did they die in vain? They were the real murderers of Fu Qilang's family. Their heads were held in worship, which fulfilled our long-cherished wish. Besides, where in the world are people not buried? Northern barbarians like them always envy the colorful world of the Central Plains. , I always want to go south to grab one.

Now they are buried near Bianjing, the most prosperous place in the world, and they feel the romance of the imperial capital day and night. I am afraid that they will be so happy that they will cry bitterly on the road to hell. They are so cheap. "

"Giggle!" The girl in the curtain laughed again, "Erlang's words are so funny. But you are apologizing and asking for help, so you come empty-handed. Are you sorry?"

"I'm really sorry. I come first, courtesy, and I'll make up for it later. Although I, Liu Erlang, am a vulgar person, I know etiquette, justice and integrity at least, and I can't let others poke my spine."

"Okay, remember, Lirenfang, Houde Palace next to Kaifeng Mansion, I'm waiting for you, Liu Erlang, to show your courtesy, justice and integrity."

Everyone rode back to Kaifeng City, Zhang Meng was a little uneasy.

"elder brother."

"What's wrong, Big Eyes?"

"Captain Wang and Master Chen went to Beijing for more than a month. How come there is no news at all? Daming Mansion in Beijing is not far away, and a month's round trip is enough. Brother, do you think something will happen? "

"The current officialdom of the Song Dynasty is asking for money everywhere and delaying everything. Even if Brother Wang and Brother Chen use money, the handover will not be completed within two or three months. Big Eyes, don't worry, I have the right path. Brother, go and ask, and you’ll get news soon.”

"That's good."

Zhang Meng cleared up his confusion, but Liu Guozhang still looked sad.

"What gift should I give?"

(End of this chapter)