Chapter 22 Shen Weiyang Mad Dog
at the same time.
On the Qinhuai River, the second largest painted boat, the "Tao Zhu Fang", is brightly lit and bustling with people.
The Shen family’s evening banquet had just ended.
Shen Wansan, the richest man in the Ming Dynasty, was entertaining guests at the bow of the ship. He admired the sky lanterns slowly rising on both sides of the Qinhuai River while playing chess with a white-haired old man.
Shen Wansan was nearly sixty years old, with gray hair and beard. Although he was old, his eyes were sharp, and his every move was steady and composed, which made him admirable.
The old man who was playing chess with him also had a dignified demeanor. He was dressed in Confucian robes and had an elegant appearance. He stroked his beard with one hand and picked up the chess piece with the other.
Shen Wansan looked at the chessboard and nodded in praise: "What a brilliant move! Lu Gong is worthy of being Lu Gong."
The old man opposite smiled and said, "Brother Shen, please stop complimenting me. Everyone in the government and the public knows that I, Lu Chang, am not a good chess player. Even if I made a good move, it was just a blind cat catching a dead mouse. In this respect, you are still better, brother. Even your precious daughter is far better than me."
"Isn't it Weiyang that Lu Gong is talking about?"
Shen Wansan had five sons and three daughters. The eldest daughter and the second daughter had already married. Only the youngest daughter was the descendant of an old friend. He adopted her as his adopted daughter and treated as his own daughter. She is just eighteen years old this year.
The only one who could play chess with Lu Chang was this youngest daughter.
Lu Chang laughed and said, "She was very clever. She showed weakness first to arouse my interest in chess, and then showed off her strength to win several games in a row. She almost made me lose all my money."
Shen Wansan also laughed: "Weiyang is naughty, she is used to using such tricks, please bear with me, Lu Gong."
Lu Chang stroked his beard and said, "I like this girl very much. There is no need to worry about her. Besides, if I don't pass on my things to her, she will have to take them into the coffin..."
After saying this, he looked lonely and sighed softly.
Shen Wansan said solemnly: "It will never come to this."
Lu Chang shook his head: "Your Majesty has tolerated Hu Weiyong for many years, watching him abuse power, form cliques for personal gain, and do whatever he wants, in order to have a reason to completely abolish the Secretariat and the prime minister system, so that the imperial power will no longer be constrained by the prime minister, and the emperor will directly control the six ministries and manage the military and politics... The prime minister for more than a thousand years was abolished in one day!
Hu Weiyong is guilty, and the prime minister is innocent. As the current sage emperor is in power, it naturally does not matter much whether he is deposed or not. But a hundred years later, how can the Ming Dynasty have sage emperors from generation to generation?
Once there is a weak or incompetent emperor, without a prime minister to support and control him, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed! The imperial edict will be issued soon. As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I have to make suggestions for the country. If I make suggestions, I will inevitably incur the emperor's disgust. The dragon's power is growing day by day, and the end of this old man is not far away..."
Lu Chang spoke of his expected death, but his expression was very calm.
"..."
Shen Wansan sighed softly.
Lu Chang was the Minister of Revenue and the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion of the current dynasty. As he said, a minister must be loyal and should give advice to the country. However, he knew that the emperor had been planning for today for a long time and would never accept the advice. He still accepted the advice, which was like a moth flying into a flame, and the outcome would be tragic.
Shen Wansan didn't know what to say.
Lu Chang understood everything, so there was no need to persuade him. Persuasion would not work. He could only pray silently, hoping that the emperor would not kill anyone because of this.
"Father! Lu Gong!"
At this moment, clear shouts suddenly came from a distance, with quick footsteps and full of energy.
The two old men looked at each other and smiled at the same time.
Shen Wansan said: "I can't help but think about it. I'm afraid this girl really matched the first line of the couplet. Lv Gong, you are going to 'spend money to avoid disaster'."
Lu Chang laughed loudly: "It is God's will, why should we regret it?"
A bright girl rushed up from the stairs.
She had fiery red hair, which was very different from that of people in the Central Plains. It was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her skin was extremely white, her eyes were bright and lively, with a hint of sea blue. Her nose was slightly higher than that of ordinary girls, and she had dimples on her cheeks. She was truly beautiful.
With red hair, red clothes and red skirt, she looks like a ball of fire.
Shen Wansan's adopted daughter, Shen Weiyang, is of Persian descent from the Western Regions.
“It’s right!”
Shen Weiyang ran over with a smile, holding up the note, and proudly unfolded it to Lu Chang: "It's been less than three days, Lu Gong, you have lost to me."
Shen Wansan pretended to be angry and said, "How disrespectful! How disrespectful!"
Shen Weiyang was not afraid at all, she rushed over and hugged his neck, smiling and said: "Dad, there is still your share. I mentioned it to you yesterday, and you also said that I couldn't answer it, so you still lost, you are not allowed to deny it."
Shen Wansan: “…”
Lu Chang laughed loudly, took the note and read it, nodding his head repeatedly: "A black dragon is on the wall, covered with thousands of golden stars... Very good, very neat parallelism, and the handwriting is also good. Who wrote this?"
Shen Weiyang smiled mysteriously and said, "You will never guess that this was written by a Jinyiwei."
Jinyiwei?
Shen Wansan and Lu Chang were quite surprised. One of them was a businessman and the other was an official, and neither of them liked this organization.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard is the knife in the emperor’s hand!
Within the legal framework, enforce national laws; outside the legal framework, exclude dissidents.
The case of Hu Weiyong was expanding day by day, and these people were behind it. They used various means to fabricate charges and eradicate the so-called Hu Party to "relieve the worries" of the emperor.
Hu Weiyong served as prime minister for several years, and most of the officials in the court and the country had dealings with him. If we really investigate like this, no one from top to bottom will be clean.
This is also what Lu Chang is worried about.
"Which Jinyiwei?"
"He said his name was Zhao Wumian."
"It's him?"
Lu Chang was slightly surprised. He had also heard that three arrogant and brave generals had fallen because of this man.
Shen Wansan frowned: "This name sounds familiar."
Shen Weiyang reminded, "My daughter has already checked. Zhao Wumian is very famous now. Marquis Yichun was stripped of his title and dismissed from office because of him. Marquis Jiangxia and Marquis Pingliang went to war because of him. Their two sons confined themselves to reflect on their mistakes. He is now highly regarded by the emperor."
Shen Wansan suddenly realized.
Lu Chang shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He looked at Shen Weiyang kindly: "No matter who helps you, as long as you match this pair within three days, the bet will be established." He took off the purse from his waist and handed it to Shen Weiyang: "I don't have much, but all my life's treasures are in it. I'll give it to you today."
After these words were spoken, Shen Wansan and Shen Weiyang were stunned.
Shen Weiyang waved his hands and said, "Lü Gong, our bet is only about the Panlong Seal, you..."
Shen Wansan also said: "Lü Gong..."
Lu Chang waved his hand to stop them from saying the next words, and said with a smile: "Su Shi said that a gentleman can find meaning in things, but should not pay attention to them. I used to treasure them too much, and this girl reminded me that they are just external things... However, you all know that I used to be an official in the Yuan court. There are several things in this bag that were given by the former Yuan emperor. I kept them because they were exquisitely made and made by masters. This is a taboo in this dynasty, so you should be careful with it."
Now that I have said this, it would be bad if I didn’t accept it.
Shen Wansan sighed and said, "You should accept this gift from Lu Gong."
Shen Weiyang bowed solemnly and took it with both hands: "Weiyang thanks Lu Gong."
Lu Chang smiled and said, "I have no children in my life, but I like you, a girl. These things can be considered as part of your dowry."
Shen Weiyang blushed.
Lu Chang laughed loudly, stood up to say goodbye, and the Shen family father and daughter saw him off together.
After Lu Chang left, Shen Wansan also left. Shen Weiyang returned to the room with the [Qiankun Bag], took out the things inside one by one, and placed them on the table.
"Li Bai's inscriptions, Dong Yuan's calligraphy and paintings, Wu Gongjin's bronze and stone carvings, and Lu Gong's own Qi training method "Yangwu Jing", the self-cultivation sword method "Yangwu Sword", and this Panlong Seal..."
Shen Weiyang took the jade seal in his hand and scratched his head: "This is too valuable. I must be filial to Lu Gong in the future... Should I prepare another gift to thank the Jinyiwei? Forget it, put it aside for now. If I get the Panlong Seal that Yuan Wenzong carried with him in the past, I should be able to open the underground palace..."
Shen Weiyang took out a treasure map, looked at the layout of the mechanisms on it, and was eager to try it out.
...Zhao Wumian took Bai Liuli all the way to Haiqingfang in the East Market, in front of the Bailu Medical Clinic.
Zhao Qi was watching lanterns and drinking with his old brother Zhang Hua at the entrance of the clinic.
"Uncle Zhang."
"Uncle Zhang."
Zhao Wumian and Bai Liuli clasped their fists and saluted together.
Zhang Hua was dressed in a grey robe and looked gentle and frail. At first glance, one would not be able to tell that he was once a ruthless inspector.
Next to him sat a pretty girl named Zhang Yan, the only daughter of Zhang Hua. She was pounding medicine with a pestle. When she saw Zhao Wumian coming over, she blushed and lowered her head.
"Come."
Zhang Hua raised his glass and said, "Try the peach blossom wine I brewed. Judging from the time, Liuli should be able to hold on for a while. It's not easy to come out. It would be boring to go back too early."
Zhang Yan immediately said, "I'll go get a stool."
After saying that, he quickly walked into the yard and ran out with two bamboo stools.
Zhao Wumian thanked him and pulled Bai Liuli to sit around the table.
The streets were brightly lit and filled with stalls and vendors. Sitting in front of the clinic, one could see all the hustle and bustle on the street and hear the storytelling coming from the restaurant opposite, which was about the "Wu Yue Chunqiu".
In the past, Bai Liuli would have started talking enthusiastically, but today he was unusually silent.
Zhao Qi saw something was wrong and turned to Bai Liuli: "What's wrong, girl? Who bullied you?"
Bai Liuli shook his head, carefully spread out his hands, and looked at the [Ningbi Pearl].
Zhao Qi didn't see it at first, because Zhang Hua often dealt with these things. Then he looked at Liuli's expression and immediately guessed it. He sighed, "Ningbizhu..."
Zhao Qi suddenly came to his senses, sighed, and touched Bai Liuli's head.
Zhang Yan stopped pounding the medicine, took the kettle behind the door, and poured a cup of sugar water for Bai Liuli.
Bai Liuli felt warm in her heart: "Thank you, Sister Zhang."
Zhao Qi intentionally changed the subject and asked with a smile, "What did you do in the past half hour? Did you have fun?"
Bai Liuli smiled and was about to open his mouth when suddenly a loud dog barking was heard at the street corner, as loud as thunder, followed by screams from passers-by. People at the street corner were staggering, and then a big red dog as big as a calf pounced towards him like lightning, with its bloody mouth open and drooling.
Those red eyes were staring straight at his neck!
"what!"
Bai Liuli was startled and was about to dodge, but a shadow appeared beside her and Zhao Wumian had already flashed in front of her. He gathered all his energy, exerted force with his right leg, and kicked the big dog.
The incomparable force kicked the dog's head hard. There was a loud cracking sound, and blood immediately spurted out of the big red dog's forehead. It screamed, flew backwards dozens of feet, and hit the bluestone wall.
"Tengu?"
Zhao Wumian narrowed his eyes.
——"Records of Strange Things in China" records: There is a red dog on the Yin Mountain, its sound is "liuli", it can ward off evil, and its name is Tiangou.
This is a strange beast from the mountains and seas, and it is an extremely rare and top-grade strange beast from the mountains and seas.
Although the one in front of him is as big as a calf, it is still just a cub. An adult Tengu has at least the strength of the late third realm.
Moreover, this Tengu has a black iron collar around its neck, which means it has an owner.
"Ow!"
The Heavenly Dog quickly got up, roaring angrily, turning its blood-red eyes towards Zhao Wumian. It opened its mouth and spit out a dark, cold and murderous aura. The temperature on the street dropped sharply, and frost formed on the bluestone floor wherever the murderous aura passed!
"careful!"
Zhao Qi covered Bai Liuli's retreat and hurriedly reminded him.
Zhao Wumian pulled the cloak with his hands, infused it with true energy, spun around and swung it. The entire cloak was like a giant palm that pushed forward, blocking all the evil spirits outside and covering the figure of the Tengu under the cloak.
Zhao Wumian moved closer and kicked him in the head with a second, even more powerful and domineering kick!
The key to "The Kasaya Subduing Demons" is not the "kasaya", which is just a trick to confuse people's vision. The killer move lies in the "Shadow-like Kick" and "Shaolin Wind and Cloud Hand" hidden behind the kasaya. In other words, this set of kung fu is not independent, but a combination of some moves from three unique skills.
boom!
"Ouch!!!"
The Tengu under the cloak screamed in pain from being kicked, his vision was blocked, and he had no idea how to dodge.
Zhao Wumian beat the dog that had fallen into the water with three kicks, breaking its legs. Then he grabbed the collar on the dog's neck, swung it up and threw it to the ground!
Click!
Bones are broken and tendons are broken, and dust is flying!
The pain was so severe that Tengu vomited blood immediately, and his cries changed from the previous rough sounds to weak whimpers.
The onlookers' hearts were pounding, the attack was so cruel!
This is obviously not an ordinary family's pet. Is it really okay to kill it like this? !
This was the second time Zhao Qi saw his son take action. He thought to himself that this kid was getting more and more ruthless. Zhang Hua and Zhang Yan were also very surprised. The person in front of them was very different from the previous "Zhao Wumian" and his personality had really changed drastically.
Bai Liuli knew that his brother was venting his anger on him. He held the Ningbi Pearl in both hands with red eyes.
"Stop it!"
A voice of shock and anger came from the street corner. Maybe it was because of the darkness that the person wearing the flying fish suit could not be seen clearly. He opened his mouth and shouted, "This is the pet of the Pingliang Marquis Mansion. If anything happens to it, ten lives of a lowly person like you will not be enough to compensate!"
When Zhao Wumian heard this, he drew his sword without saying a word and stabbed it into Tengu's heart!
puff!
The Embroidered Spring Sword entered his body, and powerful true energy poured in. Tengu's heart was instantly shattered, and his body twitched violently!
Everyone was stunned.
The corners of Zhao Qi and Zhang Hua's eyes twitched, and they were filled with astonishment.
puff!
puff!
puff!
Zhao Wumian stabbed the dog three times, smashing its chest to pieces, and then chopped off its head with one knife. After confirming that it was impossible for it to survive, he picked up his cloak, leisurely wiped the bloody long knife, and raised his eyes: "Say what you just said again."
"you……"
The one who came over quickly was a servant who was walking the dog in the Marquis's mansion. He never expected that even after he revealed his name, someone would dare to kill him so recklessly. He couldn't help but get furious and was about to say something harsh, "This is a rare beast from the mountains and seas, a priceless beast from the mountains and seas. Even if he sold all the untouchables on the street, he couldn't afford the compensation!"
But now, across the crowd, with the help of the lantern light, he could clearly see the black flying fish suit of the centurion level, with a flying fish embroidered with gold thread on it, its scales slightly open, and its wings spread as if ready to fly.
Jinyiwei!
He swallowed the rest of the words.
Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare to insult the Jinyiwei.
However, looking at the corpse of Tengu on the ground, anger still surged up uncontrollably. Even if they were the Jinyiwei, could they just ignore the founding heroes?
"What does this mean, my lord?!"
The servant looked at the dead dog on the ground with grief and clenched his fists: "Even if it's the Jinyiwei, they have to give me an explanation!"
"Who do you think you are."
Zhao Wumian sneered and said, "Just based on you, can you represent Pingliang Marquis Mansion?"
A look of humiliation flashed across the servant's eyes and he lowered his head.
"what about me?"
A figure walked over through the crowd.
He was wearing purple clothes and a purple gold crown. He looked a year or two younger than Fei Ling. At this moment, his face was filled with anger. He glanced at the corpse of the heavenly dog on the ground, and his eyes were almost bursting with anger. "My name is Fei Ming. Do I have the qualifications to represent the Pingliang Marquis' Mansion?"
(End of this chapter)
