Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 187 Why doesn’t Zhao Qi’an come to see me?
Yuzhou, Qingshi County.

A dark shadow gradually emerged on the broad river. As the distance got closer, a huge fleet slowly approached. The cargo ships were connected end to end, like a giant dragon breaking through the waves.

The sails swelled and fluttered in the river breeze. Every ship was loaded with cargo, and the cargo holds were packed to the brim. Some ships were loaded with boxes of silk and satin, gleaming with gorgeous luster in the sun; others were filled with precious spices, with their fragrance drifting in the wind.

On the deck of the cargo ship at the front of the fleet stood a nobleman, wearing splendid clothes, a white fox fur shawl, a flawless white jade around his waist, and an ivory folding fan in his hand, with a pigeon blood ruby ​​hanging at the end of the fan.

Everything used is exquisite, beautiful, and luxurious.

He was about thirty years old, with no beard and a pair of upturned fox eyes, which added a touch of androgynous femininity to his handsome appearance.

"Mr. Ruan."

A dark-skinned man walked out of the cabin, bowed to the nobleman, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "We are very close to Kyoto City now, Mr. Ruan, do you still want to stay in Qingshi County?"

Ruan Yu closed his folding fan and smiled, "No hurry, no hurry. Speaking of which, one of my senior brothers is an official in Qingshan County. Since you are here, why shouldn't we get together as senior brothers?"

"But the boss's side..."

"My boss?"

Ruan Yu turned sideways and looked at the dark-skinned man beside her, her foxy eyes narrowed slightly: "The boss you are talking about? The one in Donghai? Or the one in Kyoto?"

The dark-skinned man fell silent.

Ruan Yu patted his shoulder gently with an ivory fan, her smile still on her face, but her tone became more playful: "Don't say the wrong thing next time. The boss is the boss, and the young boss is the young boss."

While the two were talking, the ship had already docked. The crew members skillfully dropped the anchor chain, making a "clattering" sound, and then lowered the sampan to "connect" the ship to the port.

Ruan Yu walked straight past the dark-skinned man and headed towards the sampan, saying lazily, "Manager Zhao, I'm going to go down for a walk. If you don't want to come, just wait for me on the boat."

The dark-skinned man looked at his departing back, with a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

But that look only lasted for a moment. He lowered his head, quickened his pace, and caught up with Ruan Yu.

……

Following Ruan Yu off the boat were not only the dark-skinned man, but also more than twenty warriors dressed as warriors, seventeen men and six women.

These people are all Ruan Yu's fellow disciples, and they are also the guards who accompanied the fleet to escort the birthday gift for the Zhao family of Donghai.

Only the dark-skinned man was not Ruan Yu's man.

His surname is Zhao, from the Zhao family of Donghai!

Now, apart from Zhao Wanjin, the only direct descendant of the Zhao family in Donghai is Zhao Qi'an, so it can be said that the family is sparsely populated.

However, there are quite a few members in the side branches. Among the Zhao family members in Haiqing City in the East China Sea alone, there are more than 3,000 households and more than 16,000 people listed in the family tree.

This dark-skinned man is a member of the side branch of the Zhao family in Donghai, named Zhao Linyuan. If we go by seniority, he is Zhao Qi'an's cousin.

In addition to this identity, he is also a "Golden Armor General" under Zhao Qi'an. He has followed Zhao Qi'an in his battles in the Twelve Maritime Kingdoms for several years and has made numerous military achievements. He is also one of Zhao Qi'an's confidants left in Haiqing City.

Originally, he was in charge of transporting the birthday gift to celebrate Emperor Tianwu's birthday, and he led the elite "Longyuan Guards" to do so.

But just before departure, the head of the Zhao family, Duke Zhao Wanjin of Donghai, suddenly changed his mind and arranged for Ruan Yu to replace him, asking him to serve as Ruan Yu's deputy to transport the birthday gift from the Donghai Sea to Kyoto City.

This move was really unexpected.

At first, Zhao Linyuan thought that the old patriarch thought it was unsafe for him to lead the team. After all, the birthday gift prepared by the Zhao family in Donghai this time was extremely valuable, and there was no guarantee that there would be any accidents on the road, so he invited a family priest to help. However, after they actually set out, he found that this was not the case at all.

First, Ruan Yu brought his so-called "fellow disciples" and replaced almost half of the elite "Longyuan Guards".

Later, on the way of transporting the iron gangue, whenever he arrived at a larger county town, he would stop the boat and dock, make friends with the officials in the county town, and give them generous gifts.

This time, time was delayed.

Zhao Linyuan was very angry, but he couldn't touch Ruan Yu.

Ruan Yu's identity is extraordinary.

He is a disciple of Lingying Island, and his master is the "Dingbo Hou" of Daqian - Ruan Shenxiu.

Why did the disciple of Dingbo Hou become a worshiper of the Zhao family in the East China Sea?

Zhao Linyuan was not sure, he only knew that about four or five years ago, the old patriarch had become very close to Lingying Island, and not long after, he invited many martial arts masters from Lingying Island to come to the Zhao family to serve as worshippers.

Ruan Yu is one of them.

Even if we ignore his identity as a direct disciple of Marquis Dingbo, Ruan Yu himself is a third-grade master who has advanced to supernatural powers with a seven-line primordial embryo.

This time, in addition to himself, there were six celestial warriors among his fellow disciples who transported the birthday gift.

This amount of force is enough to instantly suppress Zhao Linyuan and the elite Longyuan Guards on his side.

Ruan Yu brought so many experts to Beijing, and then look at his attitude towards Zhao Qi'an...

This gave Zhao Linyuan a bad feeling in his heart.

But at this point, he could do nothing. He couldn't even send someone to Kyoto to deliver a letter to his boss, because Ruan Yu's people were keeping a close eye on him.

Fortunately, we are now very close to Kyoto City.

I guess the boss already knows about Ruan Yu's situation, but I don't know how he will respond.

……

The fleet of the Zhao family from the East China Sea stayed in Qingshi County for two full days.

During the past two days, Ruan Yu had been busy with social engagements, drinking and chatting with officials of all ranks in Qingshi County every day.

It seemed that no matter where he went, he would find old friends who were officials.

This made Zhao Linyuan, who had been accompanying him, blink his eyes. It also showed Lord Dingbo's status in the court and the complicated personal connections behind him.

He could only write these down silently, hoping to arrive in Kyoto City as soon as possible so that he could report all the news to Zhao Qian'an truthfully.

Fortunately, at the evening of the next day, Ruan Yu finally led his men to leave Qingshi County and continued to transport the birthday gift towards Kyoto City.

It was not until noon the next day that the fleet finally arrived at the west pier of Kyoto City...

When the fleet docked at the west pier, Ruan Yu led his men down the boat, looked around, and immediately frowned in dissatisfaction:

"Why didn't Zhao Qi'an come to see me?"

(End of this chapter)