Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 147 Don't believe him, he's Qin Zhou's adversary.

It was still early and there weren't many people on the road. After walking for a while, Shen Zhuizhui saw He Qu enter an alley in the distance. He followed him, noticing the sign hanging at the entrance of the alley that read "Yanzi Alley".

Shen Zhui grew up in the Northwest and had only lived in the capital for about half a year. He was not familiar with the background of the houses in these streets and alleys, but since this place was close to the southern part of the city, he knew that it was a place where merchants gathered.

The Shen family has never associated with merchants, so why is He Qu rushing here so early in the morning?
If he was ordered by Shen Qingzhou to handle an important matter, he shouldn't have acted alone.

Besides, judging from how familiar Hequ Town was with the place, he disappeared in the blink of an eye, which didn't seem like a first time here.

Shen Zhui stood at the intersection for a while, then dismounted and walked in.

The alley was fairly wide, and the houses on both sides were quite nice. However, every household had their doors closed, and there were very few passersby; almost all the people on the street were vendors hawking their wares.

He led his horse forward at a leisurely pace, almost out of the alley, but still couldn't find He Qu.

It’s weird.

His eccentric brother's subordinates were just as eccentric as him.

"That's it."

Just as they approached a mansion, two men dressed as servants came up behind the two merchants, furtively pointing into the mansion. Then, pretending to rest, they stood with their hands in their sleeves under a sycamore tree by the wall.

It looks suspicious.

Shen Zhui stopped and looked at them diagonally across the street.

A moment later, the door opened, and a simply dressed old woman came out. After looking around, she strolled out the door.

The two men hid behind a tree and then stealthily followed.

Shen Zhui snorted coldly, turned his head to look at the courtyard, and hesitated whether to knock on the door to remind them.

But thinking about these people in the capital, each one arrogant and haughty, how could they be like the carefree and open-minded people from the frontier? If I suddenly came to their door, they would probably be suspected of having ulterior motives.

Well, he's going to have to go through this alley anyway, so I might as well follow him and see what happens.

After taking a few steps, they saw the two people in front of them exchange a hand gesture, and one of them took off running towards the old woman. Women in the Central Plains are generally slender, and even if this was a servant, she could not possibly be strong enough to withstand the impact of a man.

She immediately fell to the ground, and the person who bumped into her swore: "You old hag, can't you watch where you're going? How dare you bump into me? Get up and pay up!"

Seeing this, Shen Zhui gritted his teeth, glared at the man, and kicked him to the ground: "Where did this thug come from? Trying to extort money in broad daylight?!"

The old woman lying on the ground looked at both of them and immediately got up.

The servant who had been beaten grimaced and quickly summoned his accomplice. The two men rolled up their sleeves, ready to attack Shen Zhui.

Enraged, Shen Zhui kicked him twice more: "You think you can beat me with your pathetic skills? You think just anyone can!"

The two people on the other end were clearly still not convinced, but they wisely stepped back and left.

"Thank you for helping me out of that predicament, young master. May I ask your surname?"

Granny Bai quickly expressed her gratitude.

Shen Zhui scratched the back of his head: "There's nothing to thank me for. People in the capital just love to be so sour."

After saying that, he suddenly remembered: "Oh right, how about I ask you about someone?"

Granny Bai paused for a moment: "I only recently moved to this alley, so I might not recognize the person you're looking for. But you can tell me first."

Shen Zhui then gestured: "It's a man, about my height, a bit stronger than me, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing short sleeves, and always dressed in a blue robe. Have you seen him before?" Upon hearing this, Granny Bai's eyes flickered: "What is this person's relationship with the young master?"

"Hey, he's my family's guard!"

"A guard?" Granny Bai was even more puzzled. "What's his surname? What's his name?"

The person he was talking about was clearly He Qu, but He Qu was a guard of the Xie family, so who was this person in front of him?

We need to find out for sure; it's just a coincidence that they look alike.

"His surname is He, but I won't tell you his given name." Shen Zhui glanced at her. "Just tell me if you've ever seen this person before?"

If that person found out he was following He Qu, he might get beaten up later. He wasn't that stupid to tell everyone everything.

Even though he didn't say his name, Granny Bai's heart began to pound.

She gave a slight smirk: "I'm sorry, I've never seen this person you're talking about before. You should go ahead and look for him."

"Is it."

Shen Zhui's gaze swept over her face twice, but she didn't flinch or look away, showing no sign of hiding anything, so he led the horse forward.

Granny Bai picked up the basket and quickly walked towards her home.

He Qu got the news from Guo Lu's side last night and came to Yanzi Hutong early this morning to deliver the message.

Just as Bai Mama finished telling Qiu Niang and Xie Yi the news, she pushed open the door and came in with a solemn expression.

"Guard He, you should wait a bit before going out. There were a few strange people who came earlier."

Granny Bai recounted the whole story of how she was knocked down in one breath, and then she talked about Shen Zhui: "Those two people in front of me clearly had ill intentions. I guess they are most likely the Lu family people that Miss told us to be wary of."

"That young master is indeed handsome and imposing, but his appearance was so coincidental, and he immediately inquired about Guard He. I wonder if he might be from the Lu family."

Qiu Niang and the others were dumbfounded: "The Lu family doesn't have a young master. Their closest relative is Guo Lu. Who could this person be? What does he look like?"

Granny Bai described him: "He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a loud voice. He keeps saying things like 'you people from the capital,' and his accent certainly doesn't sound like a capital accent. He even said that Guard He is his family's guard!"

He Qu had already been suspicious when she spoke earlier, and upon hearing this, he blurted out, "Oh no!"

The person that Granny Bai was talking about, isn't that Shen Zhui?

How did that idiot find his way here?

It must be because I left in a hurry and left something behind.

If he finds out about this, no, if he finds out that Shen Qingzhou has such close ties with the Xie family, what would happen?
"What's wrong?" Qiu Niang asked with concern. "Does Guard He really know him?"

He Qu quickly composed himself: "This person is not a member of the Lu family, but he is Steward Qin's enemy. He actually came to inquire about Steward Qin. You must not reveal my whereabouts or his whereabouts."

Everyone was shocked: "Qin Zhou's rival?"

He Qu nodded emphatically: "If you see him again next time, don't fall for his tricks!"

After saying that, he slipped to the front gate, glanced outside, and then walked towards the backyard: "I can't say any more. To avoid any complications, Steward Qin and I won't be showing up these days. If you need anything, Madam, just have the new guards deliver the message."

After saying that, he quickly jumped over the wall.