The Transmigrated Life of a Salty Fish Family

Chapter 911 Listening to Music in a Brothel When Nothing's Going On
"Tomorrow is another grand court assembly, and I have to go with the prince. I won't be able to take you and the rest of the family out for a stroll," Yan Lao Er said regretfully. "I'll be free the day after tomorrow, the day after that."

"Haha, Dad, you can go to work. I've made plans with Pan Zheng; starting tomorrow, he'll take me all over Beijing!" Yan Yu said, her chubby little face resting on her hands, her eyes full of anticipation. "I can't wait!"

"The capital is not like Guanzhou. Don't go to see the excitement. If anything happens, stay out of the way. Don't get involved, and definitely don't get into fights," Li Xuemei instructed.

Yan Yu nodded vigorously, "Mmm, mmm, mmm."

Whatever Mom says goes, we're good babies.

"By the way, what's the story behind delivering food to Pan Zheng's older brother?" Yan Lao Er asked.

Yan Yu straightened his posture and said seriously, "Didn't my godfather go to the city gate to greet me? I casually asked Pan Zheng's older brother what the Five Cities Military Command was in charge of. How come the things we brought from Xizhou ended up in their hands? Goodness, you don't know until you ask. The Five Cities Military Command is practically a combination of the public security bureau, fire department, urban management bureau, market supervision bureau, and street office. There's no miscellaneous thing on the streets of the capital that they can't touch."

Yan Lao Er exclaimed in surprise, "So amazing!"

Yan Yu drew out the word, imitating the tone of an old storyteller: "That's incredibly impressive!"

Li Xuemei thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "I vaguely remember that the rank of the Five Cities Military Command is not high."

"Yes, a sixth-rank official, Pan Zheng's older brother."

Yan Yu continued, "Although they are all called the Five City Military Commands, they are actually five equal-ranking offices. The highest-ranking officer is the Commander of the Military Command, with two deputy commanders under him. Below them are clerks and so on. Don't be fooled by the low rank of these five offices; the captains and lieutenants inside are all elite archers selected from the army. The two iron crossbows that we have hidden are standard issue for them."

"They have military force and law enforcement authority. They manage everything from public security to the economy; their responsibilities are extensive." Yan Yu counted on her fingers. "Most importantly, the Five Cities Garrison's jurisdiction extends within the city, unlike the Western Hills Camp, which is stationed outside the city, neither too close nor too far."

"What do you want?" Li Xuemei raised an eyebrow at her.

“Elite archers? Our little camp has plenty, hehe. I’m now under the Duke of Dingguo’s command. I have connections and strength. What’s wrong with sending a few in?” Yan Yu was making his plans.

"Will it work?" Yan Lao Er felt a little unsure. After all, he had been in the capital for a while and it was common for things to go wrong when he went out to do business. Not to mention trying to get people into the government offices in the capital. Don't even mention the low rank. A seventh-rank official in the capital might not be worth as much as a fifth or sixth-rank official in an outlying prefecture.

"There's room for maneuver," Yan Yu said, not giving a definitive answer.

"Then let's give it a try." Li Xuemei was supportive, as she was still upset about Yan Lao Er's ambush.

"Waiter, these are the blueprints that Mother came up with. Take a look."

Li Xuemei took out her meticulously drawn house construction plan.

“This is…” Yan Yu’s finger slid across the paper, her gaze following the finger to a certain spot. “A darkroom?”

“That’s right, it’s a hidden space hidden among several rooms, a closed dark room without doors or windows.” Li Xuemei pointed to it. “Here, we can put a water vat. I’ve looked at the courtyard we’re staying in and the other courtyards in the Prince’s Mansion. The water vats in the courtyards all have grooves at the bottom to fix them in place. We can build it like that too, dig a passage underneath, and go straight to the dark room. That will be the only entrance to this hidden space.”

"Put some durable food and water inside, so that if anything happens, there's a place to hide." Li Xuemei glanced at Yan Lao Er.

Yan Lao Er, completely oblivious to the fact that this was probably a hideout built specifically for him, exclaimed excitedly, "Isn't this a safe house? Isn't it? You often see these in old police and gangster movies, where tainted witnesses hide in them to escape being hunted down. This is great! This is great!"

"On my way to court tomorrow, I'll talk to the Prince. If he agrees, we can build a few more dormitories while the manor is being renovated. Well, we can't hire outsiders to do it. Luckily, we know a lot of things ourselves, so building houses shouldn't be too difficult." Yan Lao Er had already started planning carefully.

"When is your uncle arriving?" Li Xuemei was a little reluctant to look at him.

“Based on their pace, they will be more than half a month behind us,” Yan Yu replied.

She knew why her mother had asked that question, and added, "Jiuxiao should be here soon. I'll write to my uncle as soon as it arrives."

In fact, Yan Yu had already sent someone back to deliver the letter, but Jiu Xiao was faster, and writing the letter twice showed her anger even more.

Yan Yu may not say it, but she holds a grudge in her heart.

The matter of the King of Han ambushing her father cannot be easily let go.

This is also the key reason why she wanted to send people into the Five Cities Military Command.

Uncle is right. There is a different set of rules for doing things in the capital, which is completely different from those in Guanzhou.

In Guanzhou, she was favored by the King of Ying, looked after by her elder brother, the Crown Prince, and deeply loved by the Crown Princess. It could be said that she had won the favor of the three powerful figures in Guanzhou.

He's done things like acting first and reporting later, and he's also defied the princess.

Within the territory under the King of Ying's jurisdiction, including Guanzhou Prefecture, Leshan Prefecture, and even Xizhou Prefecture, the Yan family army could go anywhere she wished, coming and going as they pleased.

But in the capital, they had no foothold.

Although Yan's army successfully entered Beijing, due to affiliation issues, they could only be stationed outside the capital. They could only enter the city during their rest days, which made General Yan, who was used to having everyone at his beck and call, very uncomfortable.

“Now that you’ve all arrived, we should tell your uncle so he can hurry up too, so our family can reunite in the capital,” Yan Lao Er said cheerfully.

Yan Yu took a breath. Okay, let Dad continue to be oblivious and live a happy life.

She smiled at Li Xuemei and said, "Mother, Pan Zheng is treating us to lunch the day after tomorrow. He's booked the entire Bazhenlou restaurant. I heard that the ingredients alone need to be prepared two days in advance. The chef's skills are top-notch and he's famous throughout the capital. Let's all go. It's a rare treat to have such a delicious meal."

Li Xuemei didn't want to join in the fun, but her husband's longing gaze was too obvious to ignore.

"Okay, let's invite Heng'er and Cheng Er too, we'll all go."

Yan Lao Er immediately grinned so hard his eyes disappeared. "Alright, alright, go ahead. I'll pick you up after court and ask the academy for two days off."

……

The youngest son of the Duke of Dingguo has returned to the capital.

The news reached all the prominent families in the capital.

He told his children to avoid him if they saw him outside.

Yan Yu had an incredibly fun time with Pan Zheng these past two days!

They made it their mission to eat at all the famous restaurants in Beijing. Except for breakfast, which was a bit light, lunch and dinner were a dazzling array of dishes.

It all started from the first day when Pan Zheng asked his underlings to order food.

Yan Yushun blurted out: "Fake one book."

Pan Zheng felt as if he had opened up a new world.

I order a copy of the book no matter where I eat.

If you bring a lot of people, they'll instinctively ask for a couple of books without even being taught.

The two of them had a very busy schedule.

The wine was excellent, and I even secretly took a couple of sips of the tribute wine.

They tried all sorts of famous teas, but the two of them still couldn't discern what made them good. If the shopkeeper asked, they would only be able to say, "It smells so good! It smells so good! It really smells so good!"
After strolling around Liulichang, Young Master Pan put his money on the tab and bought whatever caught his eye.

This morning I heard that the storyteller continued the story from the previous episode.

I spent the afternoon listening to music in the flower pavilion.

If you really don't want to move, just have the restaurant deliver your food and wait for the next round.

An ancient version of a nighttime song and dance show!

Silver coins were flying everywhere as tips were given.

I'll give it to the girl instead of flowers.

Pan Zheng gave a live demonstration of what it means to spend lavishly.

It wasn't actually a thousand taels of silver.

A hundred or two hundred taels would be enough. You could exchange them for brand-new copper coins at the brothel, and someone would scatter them onto the stage while shouting:

"Young Master Pan bestows a thousand gold pieces upon you, and the brocade ground is adorned with flowers!"

Then the young ladies gracefully bowed to the private room upstairs.

The girls, all sweet and charming, said in unison, "May Young Master Pan enjoy boundless blessings and long life!"

Yan Xiaoer: This life of debauchery, tsk!

Awesome! o(*￣︶￣*)o