The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 216 Song Jiang angrily kills Yan Poxi...her father

Mr. Zhan has a good habit. If he can't figure something out, he simply stops thinking about it and never wastes time on internal matters.

Anyway, it's just a matter of how much he can gain, and it doesn't pose any threat to him, so he can just ignore it.

After confirming that the seven heroes had returned to their positions, Master Zhan turned his horse around and disappeared into the night.

Mr. Zhan doesn't care whether these seven people will rob the "Bao Yao Gang" or do other sneaky things.

After a night's rest, Mr. Zhan headed for Songjia Village.

According to the timeline of the original book, the next story should be about Lu Zhishen and Yang Zhi, but these two have been sent to reincarnate by Master Zhan, so you can skip it and go directly to find Song Jiang.

This small place of Jeju occupies most of the plots in the entire Water Margin, and it also makes it convenient for Master Zhan to travel quickly here.

Songjia Village and Dongxi Village both belong to Yuncheng County, so it is even closer. In just half a day, Master Zhan arrived at Songjia Village, riding a tall horse and leisurely entering the village.

Mr. Zhan was not in a hurry to look for Song Jiang. He first found a larger restaurant, threw out a golden bean as usual, ordered a large table of wine and food, and enjoyed it bit by bit.

After eating and drinking a little, Master Zhan waved his hand and called the waiter over and asked:
"Master, I'm here for a visit. Is there anything delicious or fun here, or anything new? Tell me about it. If you can tell me well, I'll give you a reward."

The guy then perked up and started talking nonsense about the few interesting things he knew, all of which were exaggerated. However, in such a small place, what new things could there be? They were just some trivial things.

Mr. Zhan listened roughly and found nothing new, so he shook his head and waved good-bye to let him go.

The clerk saw that Mr. Zhan was not interested, and knew that he had not touched the nobleman's heart. He was reluctant to give up the reward, so he lowered his head and thought for a while, then said:

"If you are not interested in these, then I have another idea that may make you happy."

"Some time ago, a family of three came from Tokyo. The leader is called Mr. Yan, who is good at singing. His wife and daughter are also generally good-looking."

"He and his two daughters originally came here to seek refuge with an official, but they didn't know that the official was no longer around. Now they are stranded here, making a living by singing."

"But in our small place, there are not many high-ranking officials who enjoy the pleasures of banquets and feasts, so we can't make a living. We have to live in a secluded alley at the back of the county."

"If you are bored, you can ask someone to call the father and daughter over and ask them to sing a few lines for you. If they please you, you can give them a reward. They can get something to eat and not be in such a difficult situation."

Mr. Yan?

Could this be Yan Poxi’s father?
"Okay!" Master Zhan casually threw out a silver ingot, "This is a reward for you. Go and call those three people over. If they sing well, I will naturally give you another reward."

The waiter immediately smiled and hurried out of the restaurant to look for Mr. Yan and his daughter.

In a small place like Songjia Village, the total population is no more than tens of thousands, and everyone knows each other. If a stranger comes, he will definitely not be able to hide, and within a short while, the whole village will know about it.

Master Zhan had only had a few drinks here when those who were well-informed knew that a super-rich official had come to the village. He was tall and handsome, and spent money like water and was extremely generous. He was drinking in the restaurant.

Therefore, those who were interested, whether they wanted to curry favor with the nobles or to gain some benefits, naturally came here.

There are also those who make a living by performing folk arts, who come to recommend themselves, hoping to earn some extra money.

Mr. Zhan never refused anyone. When men came, he would sit at the table and drink. When women came, he would sing and play the piano.

If they get along well, they will drink a few more glasses. If they don't like the conversation, they will just slap it away. They can be as carefree as they want.

It's a pity that there are not many heroes here. Most of them are petty thieves. They don't get along well with each other. After a few words, Master Zhan threw them downstairs. In the end, Master Zhan was drinking alone.

Not long after, the waiter brought Mr. Yan and his daughter back. Master Zhan took a look and saw that although Yan Poxi was dressed simply, she had a graceful face, a delicate figure, eyes as bright as lacquer, and breasts as soft as fat. When she walked, she was as weak as a willow swaying in the wind, and she was quite a beauty.

But it’s a pity that there is no colorful light on his body.

That's true. Although she has some roles in the book, she is not an important supporting role, let alone the main model in the fan fiction. It would be strange if she had any color light.

Judging from her appearance alone, she was barely worthy of Mr. Zhan's liking, but she was far inferior to the various courtesans who came with the powerful and wealthy in the capital.

But she still has two victories, which are unmatched by those courtesans.

One victory lies in her reputation. Although she is just a supporting role, at least her name is still there. After all, she is also a big special, much better than that unknown person.

The second victory lies in her mother. Yan Poxi is just 18 years old this year, and her mother is only about 30 years old. The mother and daughter look similar, and both come from a family of folk artists. They have exquisite figures and graceful dancing moves, which are most suitable for Master Zhan to play the Arhat game.

The only unnecessary and annoying thing was his father, a pretty boy who looked a bit old but still weak and handsome.

After seeing these three people, Mr. Zhan suddenly lost interest in these vulgar women upstairs. He immediately threw out a few ingots of silver and drove away those who were playing the piano and singing, leaving only Mr. Yan and his daughter.

"Are you Lord Yan?"

When Mr. Yan saw that Mr. Zhan was asking him, but his eyes were always on the mother and daughter behind him, he couldn't help but secretly groan in his heart, took a slight step, blocked the mother and daughter behind him, and said respectfully with his hands crossed:
"Yes, in reply to your Excellency's words, I am Lord Yan, and these two are my wife and my daughter."

Master Zhan was not angry either. He withdrew his gaze, waved his hand, and ordered:
"Okay, then, if you have any songs, just sing them. If you sing well, the master will reward you."

"How about I sing a song of "Huanxisha" by Dongpo?"

"can."

So Mr. Yan asked his wife to play the violin and his daughter to knock on the boards, while he cleared his throat and began to sing the lyrics.

Ancient lyrics all have corresponding musical scores. Once you know the name of the lyric, you can basically sing it according to the tune. The melody is very different from the pop songs of the future, but it sounds unique.

However, Mr. Zhan's taste had long been spoiled by the bigwigs in the capital. Mr. Yan's singing skills might be second to none in the local area, but to Mr. Zhan, they were just so-so.

After the song was finished, Mr. Zhan waved his hand and a silver ingot fell into Mr. Yan's arms.

"Not bad, you sing well, with some flavor of the head of the capital. Let your daughter sing another song."

Mr. Yan took the silver and was happy at first, but when he heard that Mr. Zhan was asking for a song, his face suddenly turned bitter and he laughed dryly:

"My daughter is young and her singing skills are not good. Why don't you let your wife sing it?"

If one of them must be sacrificed, Lord Yan would rather sacrifice his wife than let his own daughter suffer.

He and his wife have no son, so they will most likely have to rely on their daughter for support in their old age.

This beautiful bride, who is like a flower bud, should at least marry a high-ranking official in the future. She can't be wasted like this.

"Come on, come on, one by one. Let your wife sing first, then your daughter."

"It doesn't matter whether she sings well or not. I just want to see a beautiful woman singing. If she can dance, that would be even better!"

Mr. Zhan was in high spirits and kept urging them. Mr. Yan did not dare to refuse, so he had to signal with his eyes to let the mother and daughter be careful.

As soon as Yan opened her mouth, she heard footsteps in the corridor. A short, fat, dark-skinned man emerged from the stairs. He was about thirty years old, with a short beard, a crown on his head, a sword on his waist, thin-soled boots on his feet, and a gentleman's uniform. When he saw Master Zhan from afar, he smiled, bowed, saluted, and said in a loud voice:
"My humble servant Song Jiang greets the great official."

"I heard that the great official is having a drink here, and everyone here can come to the table and chat. I am a humble person, so I came here to ask for a glass of wine and make friends with a hero, but I wonder if I have this opportunity?"

"Haha... So you are Yasi Song. I've heard of you for a long time. Please take a seat!"

When Mr. Zhan saw that the fish had taken the bait, he immediately put away his frivolous attitude, warmly invited Song Jiang to sit down, and offered him a cup of wine.

The events destined for Song Jiang were mostly things like "releasing Chao Baozheng secretly" and "killing Yan Poxi angrily".

But Master Zhan couldn’t predict what Chao Gai’s future would be like. He might not even fall into Song Jiang’s hands.

It would be a pity to kill such a beautiful mother and daughter like Yan Poxi.

Mr. Zhan thought about it and decided to hurry up and send him to Liangshan. Liangshan cannot be without Song Gongming, just like the 3D zone cannot be without Tifa.

Song Gongming said a few humble words and came over to sit down.

The people in the government office all used standard swords, which were four feet long. He was short, so when he sat down, the sword stuck on the floor, which was quite troublesome.

Song Jiang took off his sword and put it on the table. Just as he was about to raise his glass to toast, the sword suddenly jumped and slipped out of the scabbard.

Song Jiang was startled and reached out to grab it hastily. Just as he grasped the hilt of the knife, he suddenly felt a strong force on his sleeve, which combined with the power of the rotation of the knife, caused his body to tilt, and he stabbed the knife into the stomach of Yan Gong, who was concentrating on playing the piano.

"what……"

Mr. Yan was so shocked by this misfortune that he screamed, fell to the ground, and smashed the piano to pieces.

This shocked everyone. No one had expected that the dignified Song Ya Shi would kill someone in the street in public.

"I, I..." Song Jiang's eyes almost popped out, his black face turned almost purple, he looked around with panic, "I didn't kill him, it was, the knife moved by itself..." His lips trembled, and he spoke in a trembling voice words that he himself could not believe. And Master Zhan next to him was still fanning the flames and saying some inexplicable words.

"Haha... It really is as good as his reputation says. The famous Song Gongming is indeed a man who kills and is decisive!"

"This old man refused to bow when he saw Brother Gongming. He is doomed to die!"

"Brother Gongming, don't panic. He's just an old singing man. You didn't kill his whole family. You're far worse than the netizens!"

"If you want to become the protagonist, Gongming, you have to work harder!"

"Come on, come on, there are still two dead survivors here. Gongming, if you can kill them one by one with your sword, you will definitely be able to transform into the protagonist!"

"Brother, let me teach you a lesson. As long as you kill the victim, no one will sue you!"

At this point, Yan Poxi and her daughter finally reacted. They screamed, and without caring whether Yan Gong, who was lying in a pool of blood on the ground, could be rescued. They immediately threw the musical instruments in their hands to the ground and fled in panic like a headless fly.

"Don't, don't go. Wait, let me explain..."

Song Jiang hurriedly dropped the knife and stepped forward with his arms open to stop them, but his blood-stained hands made the two women even more panicked, and they ran away even faster.

Not only did the two women escape, but the other drinkers and waiters in the restaurant also fled, fearing that Song Jiang would go crazy and hack them to death as well.

"Don't, don't... I didn't kill that person..."

Song Jiang was at a loss. He wanted to stop the people and explain, but when he saw the horrified looks in their eyes, he knew that all his efforts were in vain.

Thinking of his own ambitions and his elderly father and brothers at home, he could not help but feel sad. He sat down on the ground and burst into tears.

“Wuwuwu… What sin have I committed… How did things turn out like this…”

Everyone upstairs had run away, but Mr. Zhan was not in a hurry. He just continued to sit in his seat, listening to Song Jiang's crying while drinking.

After Song Jiang cried for a long time and stopped crying, Master Zhan put down his wine glass, came over to sit next to Song Jiang, put his arm around his shoulders, and said with a smile:

"Brother Gongming, why do you have to act like this?"

"It's just killing someone, what's the big deal?"

"A man should kill people. If he sees someone he doesn't like, he should kill him with one blow. This is the true qualities of a hero!"

"Brother, I am about to go to Liangshan Marsh to gather people for rebellion. I heard about your name, Brother Gongming, and came here to find you to join my group. I happened to see you killing people. It turns out that we are the same kind of people!"

"As the saying goes, it is better to do it today than to wait for a better day. Why don't we set out now and go to Liangshan to have fun!"

Mr. Zhan's time is so precious, he doesn't have time to argue with him. The right thing to do is to fast-forward the plot and let Song Jiang rush to Liangshan as soon as possible. As for other means, they are just minor details and not worth mentioning.

Song Jiang was not a fool. Although he had no evidence, he suspected that it was Master Zhan who did it. Especially when he heard him talk about rebellion, he felt even more disgusted. He immediately slapped Master Zhan's hand away and shouted, "Master Zhan, please help me!"
"This knife suddenly jumped out and killed people. Was it you who did it?"

Seeing that he was ungrateful and insisted on exposing the truth, Master Zhan smiled coldly and said disdainfully:

"The knife is yours, and the handle is in your hand. There are so many drinkers in this building, who hasn't seen you kill someone with their own eyes? Even if you tell them that I, the master, killed this man, do you think they will believe you?"

"You..." Song Jiang stood up suddenly, pointed his halberd at Master Zhan, and glared at him for a long time, but seeing that Master Zhan showed no fear and looked indifferent, he could not help but dejected again and sighed heavily, "Forget it, it's a pity that I, Song Jiang, have always loved making friends in the underworld, but now I am dragged down by this reputation and have been taken advantage of by you."

Seeing that Song Jiang was powerless to do anything to him and could only stand there in frustration, Master Zhan burst into laughter again.

In that book, Song Jiang always listened to Wu Yong's advice and made money from this and that. Now the situation has changed and it is his turn to be made money by Master Zhan.

This is tit for tat, he deserves it!

"Haha... Brother Gongming, you don't have to be so angry. I'm making money from you now, and you can make money from others in the future!"

"After we get to Liangshan, I'll let you take the second seat. If you like anyone, go and recruit them. If you can't recruit them, just do the same and lure them all to the mountain!"

Song Jiang was dejected and just lowered his head without saying a word.

There was a commotion downstairs. It turned out to be the constables from the county government who came to arrest someone after getting the news.

The two leaders, one was eight feet four or five inches tall, with a tiger beard one foot and five inches long, a face as red as a date, eyes as bright as stars, and looked like Guan Yu. He was clearly Zhu Tong, the man with beautiful beard. The other was seven feet five inches tall, with a purple face and a fan-shaped beard, looking like Zhang Fei, the butcher. He must be Lei Heng, the Winged Tiger.

The two men came upstairs first, but they did not bring their servants with them. After seeing Song Jiang, they stamped their feet and sighed:
"Why is the bailiff still here?"

"We two tried to stop each other for a long time before coming here to catch you. I thought you would have already fled far away, but why did you..."

Song Jiang smiled bitterly and sighed:

"If I want to leave, I can naturally leave, but if I leave, what about my father and brothers at home? They will most likely be implicated by me, alas..."

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng both exclaimed in praise:
"The name of Xiaoyi Heisaburo is indeed well-deserved!"

Asked again:
"What happened to the bailiff today? Was he drunk? Why did he suddenly get angry and kill someone?"

"Given the carefulness of the bailiff in the past, even if the singer offended the bailiff, he should have been taken to jail and dealt with slowly. Why is he so reckless today?"

Song Jiang turned his head and looked deeply at Master Zhan, but he did not expose Master Zhan as the mastermind behind the scenes. He just shook his head and said nothing.

Master Zhan didn't know that Song Jiang was a good man and always showed some mercy. He still couldn't afford to offend Master Zhan. He was afraid that this strange man would come back to cause trouble for him. He was too lazy to think about it and just smiled and said:
"Brother Gongming, if you are worried about your family, there is no need to worry. I can easily take your entire family out of the county and will not let your reputation for filial piety be damaged."

Song Jiang just shook his head and said indifferently:

"I, Song Jiang, am a man of great stature. Since I have killed someone by mistake, there is no reason for me to escape with the crime."

"My two dear brothers, take me back to the yamen to surrender myself, and let the county magistrate judge my crime."

Tsk!
Master Zhan looked at Song Jiang, who looked righteous and awe-inspiring, and knew that this guy was a little scared. He would rather become a thief and join the army than fall into Master Zhan's clutches.

I have to say, this guy’s decision... is really wise!
If he really went to Liangshan with Master Zhan, it would be impossible for him to make a comeback!
He could win over a group of people, secretly compete with Chao Gai, or even kill Chao Gai and take power himself, but if Master Zhan became the leader of the stronghold, there would be no hope at all.

Once you become second, you will be second for life.

Although Song Jiang was not aware of this, he was obviously shocked by Mr. Zhan's unscrupulous behavior and did not want to associate with such a madman.

Anyway, as long as he takes care of it, his life will be safe.

He has friends all over the world, and people bow down to him everywhere. As long as he is alive, he will always have a chance to turn things around.

After bowing to Mr. Zhan, Song Jiang followed Zhu Tong downstairs and went to surrender.

Master Zhan smacked his lips, feeling quite regretful. He had originally thought that if Zhu Tong and the other man came up with some kind of "righteous release of Song Gongming" or something like that, he could then go to the government office to report these two for "knowingly breaking the law" and "letting people commit crimes privately."

By then, if we give some money to the magistrate Shi Wenbin, it will not be difficult to force these two to join the Liangshan bandits.

How great it is to take care of three people at once!
It’s a pity that the plan is good, but these three people don’t cooperate with Master Zhan’s plan!

Alas, even if Master Zhan becomes an immortal and his brain's computing speed is comparable to that of a quantum computer, it is still just the wisdom of a mortal!
I wish we could develop the ability to calculate. Whenever we encounter something, we can just count with our fingers and know the past and the future immediately. That would be much more convenient.

After watching Song Jiang and the other two walk away, Mr. Zhan no longer had any interest in staying here, so he casually threw a golden bean on the table, got up and went downstairs.

Riding on a tall horse, Mr. Zhan looked around, wondering where to go next.

How about going to Yanggu County?
Let’s see if this world has also integrated "Jin Ping Mei"?

It would be better to just go directly to Liangshan, kill Wang Lun, and occupy the Feng Shui treasure land for oneself. Whoever comes here in the future will have to be my younger brother and sit in the back row.

Unless Chao Gai and Song Jiang set up a new group and gather their heroes in another mountain, they will be unable to escape from his clutches sooner or later.

Hmm...will they really start a new camp?
What if they don't want to be my younger brothers and really start their own business? That would be terrible!
After thinking it over, Master Zhan gave up the idea of ​​rushing directly to Liangshan to occupy a position. He decided to gather all the heroes on the mountain to join him first.

But it’s getting late now, so let’s find a place to stay first.

Mr. Zhan caught a street thug and asked him a few questions, then rushed to Yan Poxi's house.

Why would you stay in a hotel if you don’t have a decent family to stay at?
Unfortunately, Mr. Yan was killed by Song Gongming. The mother and daughter lost their head of the family and were probably in a state of panic. They needed a man to take over the family.

How could Mr. Zhan, who is such a kind and gentle man, bear to see them suffer? Of course he had to take the initiative and rush to their doorstep to be their backbone.

In the book, Song Jiang went to the funeral of Lord Yan, but he only paid ten taels of silver and got a beauty like Yan Poxi. Mr. Zhan was much more generous than Song Jiang. If a hundred or a thousand taels of silver were not a big deal, then it was only natural for him to get an extra beauty!
(End of this chapter)