The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 279 What happened back then

The moon was covered by clouds, with only some twinkling stars.

It was just getting dark and there was still a long time before curfew, but the streets of Qianmen Street were still very busy.

Zhang Cheng, dressed in casual clothes with a gloomy face, was walking among the bustling crowd with a guard.

Not far behind him, four sentries from the sentry camp in plain clothes were following him secretly with their eyes fixed on him.

When he arrived in front of a restaurant, Zhang Cheng stopped, looked around, and then went into the restaurant.

The four scouts looked at each other, two of them hurriedly followed in, and the other two walked to the small table in front of the noodle stall nearby and sat down. Each of them ordered a bowl of noodles and ate slowly while staring at the restaurant door.

The two men followed him in, then suddenly stopped and pretended to look for a seat as if nothing had happened.

It turned out that Zhang Cheng's guard was standing at the stairs. He glanced at the two of them, then looked back and forth.

At this time, Zhang Cheng had already sat down in the private room. Opposite him was an old man in a blue cloth gown.

The old man poured the wine from the jug to Zhang Cheng and said softly, "Old Huang is dead. The sentry cavalry's tracking skills are first-rate. I believe they will be able to find me in no time."

Zhang Cheng's face was still cold and expressionless.

The old man filled his glass with wine again and continued, "You are right. You are just an unwelcome bastard who is not even on the family tree. You have never enjoyed the glory brought by the family. You should not and cannot be involved."

Zhang Cheng said nothing.

The old man: "I didn't intend to tell you, but now things have come to this point. I have thought about it for a long time and decided to tell you. I hope you don't hate your grandfather anymore."

Zhang Cheng looked at him, still without saying a word.

The old man said, "How should I put it? Well, you have the same background as Princess Rong'an. Don't look at me like that. I don't need to lie to you. Although the old marquis wished that you were the blood of the Zhang family, he kept you. He originally planned to switch you and let you be born in the room of the young marquis's concubine. But things happen unexpectedly, and the prince was deposed. The old marquis was worried that the Linjiang Marquisate would be liquidated, so he sent you away in order to leave a bloodline for the Zhang family. The old marquis' words came true, and what he worried about really happened."

Zhang Cheng was already a little excited: "Didn't the prince later restore his throne? Why, why?"

The old man: "Why didn't they recognize you?! Haha, do you really think that the prince was deposed because of that woman? You are wrong. It was because the emperor felt threatened."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng was stunned.

The old man said, "The crown prince has been restored to the throne, but his biggest supporter, Jia Daishan, was 'pissed off' by Jia She, and the military power of the Beijing camp has fallen into the hands of the fence-sitter Wang Ziteng. The old marquis is worried that the crown prince will be deposed again, so..." At this point, he suddenly laughed, "This is retribution. If it weren't for his defense against the crown prince, the current emperor would not have had the opportunity to rise so quickly. Retribution!"

Zhang Cheng swallowed his saliva and asked again: "Why did he let me participate in the Imperial Guard selection back then?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice: "It was my own decision to let you participate in the Imperial Guard selection. The young marquis and his men didn't know about this at first."

Zhang Cheng was puzzled.

The old man: "I, I am worried that you will be bullied when you return to the mansion."

Zhang Cheng suddenly remembered something and his face turned ugly: "Were they the ones who suppressed me back then?"

The old man smiled and said, "This can be considered a blessing in disguise. If they hadn't excluded and suppressed you, you would have had a hard time surviving the purge the next day."

"Hmph", Zhang Cheng said: "What do you want to say?"

"Don't hate your grandfather." The old man picked up the wine glass.

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "If he hadn't paid for my schooling and given me military books, I wouldn't have had the opportunities I had later on. I don't hate him." As he spoke he also picked up his wine glass.

They both drank.

The old man poured Zhang Cheng more wine and said, "Speaking of which, Lao Huang and I should thank you. If we hadn't been taking care of you in Nancheng, you would have died that night."

After a pause, he said, "I thought I could live like this forever."

Seeing that he was playing the emotional card again, Zhang Cheng asked impatiently: "What do you want?"

The old man sighed softly: "We old guys should have died long ago. One day more or one day less doesn't matter. We still have families. They are innocent."

At this moment, the door was pushed open with a "bang".

Zhang Cheng and the old man looked up in surprise.

A young man rushed in like a gust of wind, panting: "No, it's bad! The soldiers have suddenly blocked the street and are searching every house!"

The old man stood up suddenly and said to Zhang Cheng: "Go quickly, I can't let you get involved!"

Zhang Cheng sighed, "It's too late." Then he stood up, walked to the window and pushed it open.

There was a burst of hurried footsteps, followed by a voice shouting, "Women and children go home, adult men stay where they are and wait for search, anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!" The women on the street were so frightened that they quickly hugged and pulled their children away. Some children came with their fathers and could only wait where they were.

The old man also walked to the window, and saw teams of soldiers running towards him with swords and guns in hand.

The leading officer waved his hand, and all the officers and soldiers immediately dispersed, standing in a row like nails at the side of the street, one every three steps!
Another team of soldiers arrived, rushed into the crowd and began to search, checking the palms of everyone one by one to see if there were calluses on their hands.

People who hold knives all year round will have calluses above the palms, especially the palms and thumbs, which are very rough.

The old man's heart skipped a beat. The officers and soldiers focused their search on elderly people, and it was obvious that they were targeting him.

Soon, the people on the street dispersed, leaving only a few people of suspicious identities squatting against the wall.

There was another shout from downstairs: "Everyone in the restaurant, line up and come out!"

The young man panicked: "What should I do?"

The old man glared at him and said, "What are you afraid of? The worst that can happen is death."

Zhang Cheng smiled bitterly. Whether they died or were arrested, he would be suspected. The palace might not arrest him for Li Hu's sake, but they would definitely investigate him carefully. There is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable. If there is a secret, it will be discovered sooner or later. Therefore, he must get them out of here.

There was a sound of horse hooves. Zhang Cheng looked over and his eyes lit up. "Come on, follow me down." After that, he hurried out.

The young man looked at the old man.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Let's go." He hurriedly chased after him.

The cavalry arrived in front of the restaurant and stopped. The leader was none other than Baoling Hou Shi Nai, who looked around slowly.

"Lord Shi!" A loud voice attracted Shi Nai's attention.

From a distance, Zhang Cheng bowed to Shi Nai, and then handed the badge to the leading officer.

The leading officer took it and looked at it, then quickly held it in front of Shi Nai with both hands.

Shi Nai took a quick look and saw that they were Li Hu's men. No wonder they looked familiar.

Shi Nai waved to the officers and soldiers, and they made way. Zhang Cheng came over with the guards, the old men and the young men.

Zhang Cheng bowed and said, "My Lord."

Shi Nai glanced at the three people behind Zhang Cheng, then smiled and said, "Why, are you taking a day off today?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and replied, "I asked for leave because of family matters." He pointed at the old man and said, "This is my former neighbor, he used to be a knife master. This is his son, so I won't hide it from you, sir. They invited me to dinner and asked me to help their child enter the military camp to serve and eat the emperor's food."

Shi Ding smiled and nodded.

Zhang Cheng: "I shouldn't have come to ask for mercy, sir. But sir, you know that our general is strict in disciplining the troops. If they are arrested and I go to be their guarantor, the news will definitely reach our general, so."

Shi Nai waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell your general."

Zhang Cheng was overjoyed: "Thank you, Lord." He then said to the old man and his son: "Why don't you kowtow to the Lord and thank him!"

Shi Nai waved his hand: "We are all family, there is no need to do this."

Zhang Cheng: "It should be."

The old man and his son did not hesitate and knelt down and kowtowed three times to Shi Nai.

Shi Nai smiled and said, "Okay, okay, get up." He glanced at the officers and soldiers who were searching, and said to Zhang Cheng, "I have something else to do, so I won't keep you talking. Let's have a drink together when we have time."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "When are you free? I'll treat you."

Shi Nai: "Okay, it's settled."

Zhang Cheng: "Yes." He answered and bowed, then led the guards and the old man and his son away.

The officer hesitated for a moment and whispered, "My Lord, that old man."

Shi Nai raised his hand and said, "Zhang Cheng is Li Hu's confidant, so we should give him some face."

The officer: “Yes.”

At this moment, another officer came hurriedly and reported to Shi Nai: "My lord, there are four scouts from the Rui Shi camp." Then he handed over a badge.

Shi Nai took it and looked at it, then glanced in the direction Zhang Cheng left. He seemed to notice something and blinked wildly.

(End of this chapter)